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A Brooklyn Restaurant, in Heath Ledger’s Memory

By Andrea Rice October 30, 2008 4:58 pmOctober 30, 2008 4:58 pm

Two of Heath Ledger’s friends — Scott Campbell, left, and Jud Mongell — helped him plan for a restaurant-bar in Brooklyn before his death in January. Mr. Mongell, the actor’s business partner, opened the establishment in September. (Photos: Elizabeth Payne)

Mr. Mongell said he was introduced to Mr. Ledger at a beach party in Australia more than two years ago, not long after the filming of the influential drama “Brokeback Mountain” (2005), for which Mr. Ledger was nominated for an Oscar.

Two weeks after the beach party, they met again at a wedding, and standing in the corner of the dance floor, they chatted the night away and discovered similarities in their lives, Mr. Mongell recalled. “I had lived in L.A. and N.Y., and so did he,” Mr. Mongell said. “I went to Burning Man, he went to Burning Man -– all this stuff came up.”

From music to motorbikes, tattoos to coffee, and even daughters who were the same age, the men linked one conversation to the next. Mr. Mongell and Mr. Ledger both had plans to move to New York in the following months. They broached the idea of opening a coffee shop together and decided to stay in touch.

“When I got to New York, I thought I should give that dude Heath a call, but I figured he was probably real busy,” Mr. Mongell said. “I was sure he’d screen me.” But Mr. Ledger’s phone barely rang twice before he answered, eager to pick up where they had left off, Mr. Mongell recalled.

Mr. Ledger was on his way to Saved Tattoo in Williamsburg for the first time, where he was to meet Mr. Campbell, on the recommendation of Helena Christensen, the Victoria’s Secret model.

“It’s funny because the first time he came in, I didn’t even know who he was,” Mr. Campbell said, recalling that he was unable to fit the actor into his very busy schedule that day. While Saved Tattoo is notorious for having waiting times as long as three months, Mr. Campbell asked the actor to come back a week later for the bird tattoo he wanted.

“Heath would come hang out at the tattoo shop all the time, and they started talking about doing something around here,” Mr. Campbell said. (Mr. Ledger showed up for his appointment, but he already had the bird tattoo on his arm because he said he hadn’t been patient enough to wait. But he wasn’t happy with the tattoo, so he kept the appointment with Mr. Campbell, who fixed it.)

The next day, when a photographer stopped by the tattoo shop asking about Mr. Ledger’s tattoo, Mr. Campbell realized who he was. “Oh yeah, sorry mate,” Mr. Campbell recalled Mr. Ledger saying when told about the photographer. “I just did this movie, ‘Brokeback Mountain.’ ”

Mr. Campbell did a half-dozen more tattoos for Mr. Ledger. “I don’t know how many times he would call me at, like, 8 a.m., 6 in the morning with tattoo ideas — he would be jet-lagged, just flew in from somewhere on a completely different time schedule, and he would be like ‘Ohhh! I just saw this in a book. I decided what I want to get tattooed! I was like, ‘Okay, cool, we will get around to it!’ ”

Mr. Ledger would insist that he would be there in 20 minutes or so, Mr. Campbell said. “I’m like, Heath, it’s 7 in the morning; just call me later,’ ” he recalled. “I’d hang up the phone, and like half an hour later, he’d be knocking on my door, like, ‘Let’s go!’ ”

The actor soon introduced Mr. Mongell to Mr. Campbell, and the three became fast friends.

As his celebrity status escalated in the aftermath of “Brokeback Mountain,” Mr. Ledger yearned for genuine human interaction, his friends said.

“We would all hang out in the West Village, and he was just like the guy with a cigarette,” Mr. Campbell said. “He loved when anyone would react to him as a normal person. He really appreciated that.” Mr. Ledger would give out his cigarettes and strike up conversation with just about anyone, he said. But the minute anyone said, “You’re Heath Ledger,” the conversation would become stilted, he said.

“He’d be like, ‘Yeah, that’s right’ and he would let that conversation just end there,” said Mr. Mongell. “And then they could either have regular conversation or there would be no more conversation.”

Mr. Ledger would open up more to fellow Australians, Mr. Campbell said. “Australians have this amazing camaraderie,” he said. “They run into each other anywhere, and if you’re Australian, it’s like, ‘Cool, what do you need? Do you want my wallet? What?’ Amazing.”

Mr. Ledger lived in Boerum Hill with the actress Michelle Williams and their daughter, Matilda, until the couple separated. During that time, he spent much of his free time in Greenpoint and Williamsburg, where he discovered the triangular-shaped space for the future restaurant-bar while skateboarding, Mr. Campbell said.

At one point, Mr. Ledger made an offer to buy out an elderly Polish woman running a barbershop in the neighborhood. “He even pitched an offer for the whole building,” Mr. Mongell said. “He was going to build a commune for all of his friends,” Mr. Campbell added.

The original idea of a coffee shop morphed into a plan for an Australian-meets-American restaurant-bar that would serve local and organic fare. “This would have been Heath’s hangout,” said Mr. Mongell, who now runs Five Leaves with his wife but still refers to Mr. Ledger as an equal partner in the business. Mr. Ledger’s father, Kim, is managing the business’s finances.

Over time, the Williamsburg community became desensitized to Mr. Ledger’s celebrity presence. He would show up at the local lounge Zebulon to watch soccer with the bartenders or show up at Union Pool with the crew from Dumont Burger. He took the wheel of the DJ booth and laid down a few tracks at the hipster hangout Enid’s for a birthday party of fewer than a dozen people. “After a while, Heath had all his regular spots around here, and no one would call Page Six anymore when he walked in the door, because nobody cared,” Mr. Campbell said. “He was the Williamsburg dude.”

Mr. Campbell said that Mr. Ledger loved having friends around. Mr. Campbell raided the actor’s closet and slept on his couch. There were always people coming and going at Mr. Ledger’s place, drinking tea, using the computer and gathering around for dinner. Mr. Ledger was always manning the barbecue grill or making espresso. “If he could cook at his house with an ocean of people laying on the living room floor watching movies, that was his heaven,” Mr. Campbell said. “That and his daughter, Matilda -– she was everything to him.” Aside from his production company endeavors, Mr. Ledger also planned to build a drive-in at an old garage to watch movies with his daughter.

Mr. Mongell, who described himself as Mr. Ledger’s “boring” friend who organized play dates for their daughters and was always talking business, said the actor truly lived the New York experience. He taught his daughter how to skateboard. He rode his bike over the Williamsburg Bridge. He visited farmer’s markets. He played chess in Washington Square Park, and he brought coffee for the paparazzi.

“He really just took New York and rolled with it,” Mr. Mongell said. “He was just one of us, man.”

Scott Campbell, left, and Jud Mongell in Five Leaves, the restaurant and bar that Mr. Mongell opened with support from the family of their late friend, the actor Heath Ledger.

It is nice to read something about Ledger that isn’t all “celebrity.” The microscope placed on famous people’s lives is disturbing, so something that sidesteps that such as the article above is refreshing.

It seems Heath was all about giving and all about building a community. The more I learn about him, the more I realize what a tremendous loss we’ve experienced. Thanks for this lovely article. Where ever he is, I hope he realizes how much affection people have for him, and that he succeeded beautifully in helping us see things in a different, better way. Somethings you never “get over;” you just try to learn to live with them.

It’s nice to read an article that’s written about Heath by the people that truly knew him! He was a fantastic talent and it sounds like he was very down to earth and just wanted to do his own thing without being in the limelight all the time.

It’s a pity there’s is always someone that has to be insensitive and sarcastic isn’t it Jen…

#7 …Did you even read the article??? The bar was not opened to remember Ledger. It was a dream of his that was realized. Plus, it’s not just a bar, it’s mainly a restaurant, and a great one at that. Maybe you should go there sometime and check it out…and improve on your reading comprehension skills while you’re at it.

This is a great article. Heath will always be remembered not only for his acting, but for the person he was behind the actor. He was truly a special individual who will be forever missed. Special thanks to his two friends for sharing these great memories of Heath.

Jen #7: Ledger did not abuse alcohol. Also, the bar was not opened as a tribute to “remember” him by–it is clearly stated in the article that opening the bar was a dream that was shared by both Heath and Mr. Mongell.

There was a lot of stuff made up by the press about Heath when he died, trying to make him out to be a depressed junkie who committed suicide when the actual fact he was in a very good place when he died, with many friends, a new love in his life, Gemma Ward, and with big plans for directing and enjoying life in general. I’m glad he seemed to be happy before his unfortunate death from mixing wrong prescription pills to get over his jetlag, pneumonia, severe back pain and insomnia..

For one thing, Jen, they are remembering an Australian. Australians know how to live, and part of living is living with the mistakes we make, and the imperfections we have as humans. And part of that is understanding and practicing compassion rather than judgment. So, maybe your alcohol is something else and something else will lead you to die. Everyone’s got their something, to quote Nikka Costa.

Also, I don’t think the cause of Ledger’s death is directly linked to recreational drugs. His death, according to some sources, was a deadly combination of prescription drugs.

This piece brought tears to my eyes. Which is odd for a 51-year-old guy who has no particular interest in the actor Heath Ledger. I was moved by a well-crafted profile of the man Heath Ledger, who lived a good life with friends that he treasured and they treated him in kind. Thank you for diving below the surface to let us know more about this man, and how he will be missed by family and friends.

What a wonderful glimpse into the life of Heath – the ordinary guy. Kudos to his friends and family for moving forward with his dream of opening a gathering place where people could connect & relax with good food and company!

Great article. It paints a much happier picture of Ledger’s life than popular media has done to date. So many gossip magazines and shows prefer to sell stories conjuring a dark and morbid picture of a person’s life before an untimely death. I think people close to him would appreciate a warm portrayal such as this much more.

Great article but after eating there many times its really too bad that they’ve missed the mark a little. The food leaves a lot to be desired and the kitchen is really inconsistent. Hopefully they will pull the kitchen up to the caliber of the interior.

The staff is a little aloof and slow as well.

Regardless, great article on who Heath really was and how much he will be missed.

I don’t live in the city, but I’ve been to Five Leaves twice so far. The last time was during the busy lunch hour and I thought the food was delicious, and I found the staff to be very polite, not aloof like I had anticipated. This will be my restaurant of choice for my future ventures into Brooklyn.

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